I’m a regular reader of the obituaries. I like to read about people’s lives, their legacies, and how they died. I’ve definitely noticed the uptick in young deaths over the years, many of which are attributed to opioid overdose. I know 7 people I grew up with who have died this way. I find it incredibly depressing.
What about you, has your life been touched in any way by the opioid crisis?
Yes. My husband broke his spine in 4 places. He has nerve damage, had part of his spine fused and has metal in his back holding it together. He is in constant severe pain, but they’ve lowered his pain pills to 20 pills per month. That’s less than one per day. That’s not enough at all. So he’s suffering just because other people have had problems with opiates. It’s not fair at all
How old are you? I’ve had 6 friends and acquaintances die of heroin od. I’m 28 years old. Yes it’s sad. I met them from Iop, school, growing up with. Probably far more have passed I don’t know about considering in all the dual diagnosis groups I’ve been in. Most notably my friend markos and Rachael I still think about all the time. They both died in early 2017
The whole opiod epidemic is skewed by people addicted to illegal drugs, but they lump prescriptions in with it. I have to watch my husband suffer with a low dose, restricted to hardly any pain med choices because of this skewed info.
I feel bad that people die but I think they are wrong to punish people with legitimate reasons for legal uses.
I feel for your husband. I understand that’s become a problem as well. I know that they are now wary of prescribing non-cancer pain patients with the same drugs they’ve used to manage chronic conditions for years. Before I had back surgery, I threw my back out maybe 2 or 3 times a year and it was always the same regiment—a couple weeks of flexeril (a muscle relaxer), a course of steroids, and Vicodin for the duration. The last time I threw my back out they told me to take Tylenol. I was in pain and pissed off and wasn’t shy about letting them know. I’m sure I came off as a drug seeker, but when you’re in pain, yeah of course you’re seeking relief. It’s tough.
I’m sorry your husband is in so much pain. Does anything other than pain medication help?
No. He got shots, tried a tens unit and everything they offered him. Nothing helped unfortunately.
I’m 36. All the people I knew who died I grew up with: Greg, Kristin, Scott, Ryan, Rob, Joe, and Alison. And these are just the people in my peer group. I’m sure there are people older and younger than me from my hometown who have also gone.
It makes me sad to think about us all as kids growing up, progressimg from grade to grade, playing and then eventually hanging out and coming into our own. I knew them as people, not junkies. I remember them all and feel sad.
Can he try a different doctor?
On the one hand, I try to empathize as I personally am fortunate to be in good health and I can’t say I know how it feels to be in severe pain.
At the same time, this all falls back to the recent trend that healthcare is just another form of business where consumer satisfaction (i.e. patients in this case) is one of the most important endpoints. A physician’s job should be to treat patients and not just to make them happy. Most of the time these two go together, but sometimes they don’t. And if the success of the “business” would require hospital administrators to do “everything” to make their consumers happy, they really couldn’t care less how many opioid pills end up being sold on the streets. And this’s exactly what’s happening.
Many people who use heroin started off addicted to prescription pain medication. Plenty of these people were prescribed meds for legitimate reasons, including chronic pain. Loads of new heroin users are people who can no longer get access to prescription opioids.
I know that most people do not abuse their meds. They even taught us that in nursing school. But a lot of people do, and doctors are now facing the heat after 2 decades of overprescribing what they were originally told were nonaddictive substances. I used to have a chronic pain condition and was stunned when I met a doctor who flat out told me she didn’t prescribe pain medication. That’s the new reality. I know it’s changing the landscape for chronic pain sufferers and creating another sort of crisis with under prescribing for patients in need. I don’t know, I feel like pain meds are a blessing and a curse. You can’t take them long term without getting addicted to them, but what can you do when you’re in pain? I’m really sorry that your husband has to suffer. It shouldn’t be this way.
I’ve known a few people that have died from overdoses,
Mostly from my hometown.
That aside, I’ve really not felt the affects of the opioid crisis.
When I legitimately need pain pills, I get them.
Like after my breast surgery and when I injured my eye a couple months ago.
My mother in law takes pain pills for a chronic condition and wants more but has enough to get her through the day.
As far as prescription drugs go, I think the level of “crisis” has more to do with where you live and the individual doctor.
He already has @anon1517417
I had a pinched nerve In my neck in 2011. My chiropractor sent me to a ‘holistic’ wellness center, which is a cover for drug dealer, where I was prescribed tramadol for pain.
I ended up abusing the meds and would order them from some pharmacy I. Wisconsin and the would be next day shipped to my house.
Eventually I had to retur. To work and my recreational opoid use ended.
I had an unhealthy relationship with the OxyContin I was prescribed the few months after my back surgery. I would take it too frequently, run out early, and then suffer through the days until I could get a refill. It seemed to happen both gradually and all of a sudden. I eventually stopped calling in refills, because I could see where things were headed. I was always scared I’d stop breathing in my sleep. The pills had stopped my pain, but they also made me feel really good. I wonder if it’s like that for everyone. It seemed to me really easy to become addicted to them. I’m grateful that I don’t need them anymore.
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